The doorbell rings, and I wipe my hands on a hand towel before heading to the door. I peer in the peephole, seeing a female on the other side. It must be Sophie.
I open the door, meeting emerald eyes that seem oddly familiar. Her dark-brown hair is pulled into a long, sleek ponytail.
“You’re her spitting image,” she says.
I blink. “Excuse me?”
She gives me a sad smile. “Sorry, I’m Sophie.” She sticks her hand out and I take it. “Your mum was my cousin.”
My mouth gapes open then closed a few times as she shakes my hand. When I’m finally able to speak, I say, “I thought I didn’t have any family left alive.”
“We weren’t close.” Her hands go back to her side. “And I didn’t know she had a daughter until Foster told me last week. I’ve been...away.”
“Oh.” I try not to sound disappointed as I let her in, but she must see it written across my face.
“I knew her enough to be sad when I heard of her passing.” Her eyes fill with sorrow. “I regret not keeping in touch. Maybe then I would’ve known she had a daughter. I’m sorry I didn’t come try to find you. I didn’t even know she died until a few years ago.”
I shake my head. “It’s fine. Like you said, you didn’t know I existed.” What would my life be life if she had?
She arches a brow—seeing through me—as she passes and heads out of the foyer. “Everyone knows when a girl says ‘fine’ that she doesn’t actually mean it.”
I nod slowly, following her. My mind is reeling, not really comprehending that Sophie is family. My mom’s cousin. What would my life be like if she knew about me? Where would I be today? Would I have ever been in foster care? Would I have ever met Jane?
“I guess you’re right,” I say. “It’s a lot to take in. But we can’t change the past.”
“True, but I’m here now, if you ever need me.”
My heart warms at her words. “Thank you.” I glance up at the stairs as we pass by, hoping Alice is eating the toast. I should bring some more food up for her after Sophie leaves.
Sophie pauses and follows my gaze. She tilts her head as she sniffs the air. “Alice up there?” She can tell just by scent?
I nod. “Yeah, she got here yesterday.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go get her.”
“What?” I blanch, but she’s already making her way up the stairs.
I quickly rush up the stairs as she bangs on Alice’s door.
“Open up, Alice, I know you’re in there. I won’t stop until you open the door.” Sophie keeps her word and continues to knock. I survey the ground and find the plate of toast and water bottle no longer on the ground. A small smile forms on my face. Alice kept her word.
Alice throws open the door, only wearing a towel, but her hair is still dry. My guess is we stopped her from taking a shower.
“Why are you here?” she asks.
Sophie places her hands on her hips. “To train, of course.”
Alice’s shoulders slump, the fight already leaving her. “Ash made you the new lead warrior, huh?”
Sophie’s face wavers. “Only temporarily. I’m the new delta,” she says softly.
“I don’t want to train.” Alice goes to close the door, but Sophie sneaks her foot in.
“Uh-uh-uh,” she tsks. “You’re coming. It’s not an option.”
“Sophie.” She sighs. “I was going to shower.”
“I’m not saying you can’t. But you can shower after. You need to get out of this room.”
“I haven’t even been here a full day,” Alice says.
“Fine. In general, you need to get out.”
Alice rolls her eyes. “Fine. Give me a sec to change.” She gestures to Sophie’s foot.
Sophie gives her a smug grin as she removes her boot. “If you don’t come out in two minutes, I’m busting the door down.”
Alice glares then shutting the door. It isn’t long before she comes out again in a change of clothes and her hair in a pony.
“Much better.” Sophie turns to me. “Ready?”
I nod and give Alice a hesitant look.
“Why are you doing this, Soph?” Alice asks, following behind us as we head down the stairs.
“Ash asked me to train Ellie, and if Foster knew I didn’t try to get you out of bed, he’d give me hell for sure.” Sophie must sense my questioning gaze because she glances at me as we make it to the ground floor. “Foster and I are cousins.”
What? My mind is swirling. “But you said my mom was.”
“Foster is from my dad’s side. You and Addison are on my mum’s side.”
“Huh.” The lycan world seems to be shrinking.
“Foster and I are closer in age. He’s probably the only extended family I see nowadays. My mum is sisters with your gran.”
I didn’t notice before, but Sophie has a slight British accent when she pronounces certain words like ‘gran’ and ‘mum’.
Sophie opens the back door and we follow her to the spot where Ash and I trained just yesterday. “Now, let’s get started.”
She stops and points to the tree line in the distance that has to be at least 200 feet away. “I want you two to run there and back five times. Stamina is important in a fight. If you’re the first one to run out of steam then you’re a goner. Won’t matter if you know how to beat someone up if you can’t lift an arm to throw a punch.” She claps her hands. “Now go.”
Not having ran in ages, I start off in a jog, alongside Alice. When I get to lap two, Alice passes me. I’m already feeling the burn in my legs and lungs. I’m so out of shape. Doesn’t help that I’m still sore from my training session with Ash yesterday, and I’m practically trudging through the snow.
It makes me wish I could stomach going to the basement to Ash’s workout area.
Alice seems to be fine on stamina and finishes before me, even with her jacket still in place.
I’m huffing and puffing with my hands on my knees when I finally make it. My head is pounding in sync with my heartbeat. I feel like I’m going to pass out with how lightheaded and weak I am.
“Well...that wasn’t too great,” Sophie says.
I let out a short, tired laugh. “Yeah.”
“That’s okay. That’s just something we’ll have to work on. Now we’ll do some stretches to get your heartrate back to normal, but then I’m going to grab some of Ash’s weights to do some weight lifting.”
When she has us touch our toes, my fingers brush the snow around my boots. The chill is refreshing on my fevered skin.
“How long have you been here in Alaska, Ellie?” Sophie asks when we go into the next stretch.
Thinking back to when I first got here seems like forever ago. I arrived the last week of September and it’s already mid-December. “About three months.”
“So you got here just after I left,” she says. “Okay, we’re going to do some arm stretches now.”
Alice and I follow her lead.
“Where did you go?” I ask.
Sophie sighs with one arm across her chest in a stretch. “My family doesn’t like that I’m over here and no longer a part of their pack, so every fall to appease them and make sure I’m not suddenly betrothed to anyone, I visit them for a few months.”
“Betrothed?” I ask, my heart rate finally settling down.
“Old way to say engaged,” Alice says.
My eyes widen. “Why would they engage you to someone without you knowing?”
Sophie sneers. “They want me to mate a pureblood.” She switches arms and we follow suit.
“Because you’re a pureblood?”
“Yes, and so is Foster.”
“And Russell?” I ask, and Sophie’s face drops.
Alice is the one to respond. “He’s not.”
I look between the two of them. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” Sophie says curtly. Spots color her cheeks as her features tighten. “It’s not a bad thing. At least
not to me.” She drops her arms. “Okay, let’s move on.”
My brows rise at her abrupt change. I meet Alice’s gaze, and she shakes her head.
“Your heart rate seems to be better now. Let’s go inside and do some push-ups and sit-ups,” Sophie says.
My arms go limp. Great.
“You did a good job today, Ellie,” Sophie says when she finally lets us take a break.
I did not do well at all. Alice did better than me, but it seems we both lack combat skills.
I was worried I wouldn’t like Sophie in the beginning. She’s blunt, but not to the point where it’s hurtful. She’s honest, but doesn’t shame us for being worthless. Because we are. Worthless in a fight, I mean.
“Once you’re done, I want us to practice shifting.”
I inwardly groan. I was hoping we would be done.
“I’m ready to be done,” Alice says as she slumps down on one of the couches. “I just want to take a shower. Besides I already know how to shift just fine, thank you very much. I don’t need any help from you.”
I don’t miss the snarky tone, and neither does Sophie. I watch Sophie’s lips tighten.
“Well, I guess you can be done then.” Sophie meets my gaze. “Once you’re ready, just meet me outside.”
“Okay,” I say.
She goes through the back door, closing it behind her.
I walk over to the couch that Alice is on and hand her a water bottle and take a sip of mine.
“Do you not like Sophie?” I ask, sitting down beside her.
Alice gives me a confused look. “I like her fine, why?”
“You’ve barely said anything to her the entire time we trained. I know you’re hurting, but this doesn’t seem like you. I’ve never seen you act like this before.”
She straightens, banging the bottle on the coffee table, water jumping out of the opening. “Why don’t you tell me who I am then, Ellie? Because I sure don’t know. I don’t know where I’m going in life, and I sure don’t want to be an omega. I have nothing going for me. I just didn’t have to face the facts until I didn’t have anyone left to share my life with.”
“Alice, you aren’t—”
“I am. Everyone already has lives that don’t involve me. I know, I know. Foster has been there for me recently. But Foster isn’t usually around this much. He’s been traveling for years and I know he’ll start up again once everything is dealt with.” She slumps back down and grabs a pillow. Her arms shake as she holds it against her chest. “I’m alone, Ellie, and it terrifies me.” She looks up at me with tears in her big blue eyes.
“I can’t...I can’t live like this. I know I shouldn’t blame Sophie for her taking my father’s position, but no one can replace him. He was the best lead warrior. I know her position is temporary until she picks someone else.” She lays her head on the pillow, turning her face away, but I can still hear her as she whispers, “I just don’t know how I can live without him.” She sniffles. “I don’t want to. I don’t want to be alone.” She looks up at me with tears rolling down her face. “I don’t want to live like this anymore.”
My eyes widen as my heart drops to my stomach. Foster couldn’t have been right, right? “Alice, you can’t mean...”
She averts her gaze. “I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it,” she says softly. “It’s why freakin’ Foster wouldn’t leave me alone.” She sighs. “But no, I’m not. Not anymore at least. I realized I wouldn’t have any more chances to live if I did. And even though everything seems pointless and hopeless, I do still want to live. Foster was very adamant that I needed to remember that bad times pass and whatnot.”
“So, you’re okay now?” I regret it once it comes out. Of course she’s not okay. Who is after someone dies?
“No, but I’m getting there. It’s hard. All I want to do is sleep and cry and sleep some more.”
I look out of the sliding glass door and see Sophie sitting down on one of the porch steps. “I think that’s why Sophie is forcing you to be active.”
Alice groans. “I know, but it sucks. I don’t want to. I don’t have a desire to do anything right now. It’s draining to even get up to pee.”
“I’m so sorry, Alice.” My chest tightens. I wish there was something I could do.
She shakes her head. “Not your fault.” She stands up and fixes her shirt. “Let’s go shift.”
I stand with her. “I thought you were done.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t really do anything.”
“Sometimes just having someone that’s willing to listen helps.” Alice gives me a small, sad smile before heading back outside.
I let out a groan as I collapse on the bed. Shifting was torture. It was just as painful as the first time. Except it didn’t happen. I didn’t shift. And I don’t have a clue why. Sophie and Alice said it must be a mental block because nothing seemed to be wrong when I partial-shifted. I wish Ash was with me. He’d know how to help me.
My new smartphone buzzes, and I roll over to grab it. I jolt up into a sitting position when I see a text from Ash.
Just call me when you get the chance. Miss and love you.
I scroll and see I’ve already missed a few calls from him. I tap his name and hit call. My heart pounds as I listen to it ring.
“Ellie darling,” he says.
“Hey, sorry, I was with Sophie and Alice.”
“Your tone doesn’t sound like today went well.”
I lay back down with an exhale. “Alice is struggling,” I say. “Sophie was able to get her out of her room, by force I might add, but I’m worried, Ash.” I roll over onto my side and cuddle a pillow, looking at the bookshelf, but not really seeing it. “I’m not sure what to do about Alice.”
He’s silent for a moment. “I think just being there for her is a good start. She could use a friend.”
I nod even though I know he can’t see me. “I think so, too,” I mumble on a yawn.
“Sounds like you had a long day, but before I let you go, how did training go?”
“Fine, but I think I liked the teacher that I had yesterday more.”
He chuckles. “Glad I’m missed.”
I smile into the phone.
“Were you able to practice shifting?” he asks. “I figured Sophie would try it with you.”
Another groan slips past my lips as I’m reminded of all my failed attempts. “I wasn’t able to shift.”
“What do you mean?” I catch the worry in his voice.
“Just that. I wasn’t able to shift. I felt it—I felt the pain—but I never was able to become a wolf.”
He’s silent for a moment. I can just picture him biting his lip as he ponders, or maybe he’s scratching his scruff. “I think you might be thinking about it in the wrong way.” I frown as he continues, “Your wolf is a part of you. It is you. Don’t think of it as a separate being inside of you, because it isn’t. It’s just you in wolf form. I don’t know if that makes sense, but try not thinking so hard about it. Think about how I taught you to partial-shift but on a grander scale, just let it flow through you. Focus on the essence in your body.”
Rolling over onto my back, I stare at the ceiling. That makes sense. I was picturing my wolf as something foreign inside of me. But really, it’s just another part of me. “Like my heart or lungs,” I say.
“Exactly. But more like your arm or leg because it’s an extension of yourself. You can control it—mostly. And you don’t need it to survive. Also, the more you use your abilities and shift, the easier and more natural it’ll become. Like walking.”
“Okay, that makes sense. I’ll try that next time.” I twirl a piece of hair around my finger. “I’ve been thinking.”
“About what, darling?”
“Since my parents were purebloods, wouldn’t they have had special abilities, too? I’m curious to know what theirs were.”
“They usually document them in pack file
s.” He pauses. “I just remembered you telling me they had closed caskets for their funeral.”
“Yeah. I never saw their bodies. They were too mangled up.”
It’s silent on his end and I sit up, concerned. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Remember the funeral we had for Charlie?” I mutter a “yeah” before he continues, “All funerals for lycans are universal. Since they were lycans, they shouldn’t have had caskets.”
A chill runs down my spine. I wish I could see his face right now and feel his arms around me. “What do you think happened?”
“I’m not sure. It could just mean that because of their accident, humans took over the service. But even then that’s a far-fetched idea. Next of kin is usually in charge of something like that. Their betas if they didn’t have any family alive or close by, or the alpha or alpha couples if your parents weren’t the alphas.”
“I just found out Sophie was my mom’s cousin, so they did...I did have family,” I say.
“Huh. I forgot that Thorntons share a line with the Knights.”
“Knights? As in knights in shining armor?”
He chuckles. “No, as in a last name. Sophie’s mom was a Knight, and if I remember correctly, one of your grandparents on your mother’s side was a Knight as well.”
“I don’t know much about my family lines. I never met any.” Which now that I’m thinking about it, it is strange. Wouldn’t my grandparents be involved in my life? “Wait, are they even alive?”
“I’m sorry, Ellie, I don’t believe so. I think the only ones alive on that side would be Sophie’s parents.”
“Oh.”
He continues, “But it’s odd that Sophie and her mother weren’t notified about you. At least not at the time. That worries me, but it makes sense why what happened, happened. You never should’ve been put into foster care.”
What would my life have turned out to be like if I never had to jump from home to home? Never had to meet Marcus or suffer through the years of pain he inflicted? What would it have been like to be with family that I didn’t even know existed? To learn that I was a lycan before I was twenty? “Sophie told me that Foster was the one to tell her about me. She didn’t know about me before.”
Saving Ellie (Lycans Book 1) Page 27